Scariest moment biking: I'm in the right lane, doing about 40km/h, transport truck comes alongside doing probably 60km/h, get's half way along side me without a lot of room between me and the trailer, then slams on the brakes and turns right.

Yeah, that was fun.

I hit the brakes, hard, managed to not skid underneath the trailer, and then bailed up onto the curbside.

If I hadn't he would have run me over 100% for certain.

Of course, he just trundled off.

Second scariest moment had almost the same thing, except it was a drunk used car salesman in a car, and I was doing at least 60km/h down a steep hill when he raced past and then turned right in front of me (to a bar). This was pre-cellphone days, so by the time I got to a phone (the bar wouldn't let me use theirs, and the guy was a bit of a nut) it had been too long and he'd started drinking at the bar. Cops basically said "thanks for the report, nothing to see here".

I've logged alot of road miles all over the country on all kinds of roads. Well into 5 figures.

The professional drivers - tractor trailers, etc. - don't scare me. I've never had an issue with them. They generally know where they are, where you are, and make sure those don't intersect.

The things that scare the shiat out of me on the road are, in ascending order:

1. All cars2. Drivers with cell phones3. RV drivers who spend 50 weeks out of the year in the Lexus, then drive HWY 1 in something the size of a greyhound bus pulling a trailer the other 2 weeks. They have no fscking idea where they are.4. 5th wheel drivers who have no idea just how far their mirrors stick out.

/NCSB// waited in the rain for an hour for an ambulance holding a poncho over a guy who got his shoulder destroyed by one of these

#7 combines the general asshole redneck tendencies with the "Hey y'all, watch this" phenomena and the stupid people in groups multipliers in full effect. Have been intentionally run off the road, things thrown at me etc. This was pretty rare when I started touring in the 80s and 90s, but it seems to have gotten much worse.

Haven't been much of a road rider for years, would like to do it again. Mountain bikes are great, but there's something about hammering big gears with a tailwind on the open road. But if I do, I'll have a gopro and be conspicuously armed.

Norwegian Squirrel:I must admit I'm always fascinated by these cyclists threads on fark, are really cyclists so loathed?

you wonder why groups of men in spandex slowing everyone's commute down so they can work out annoy people? You just need to switch out 1 piece of the puzzle and it'l be cool... groups of women in spandex working out slowing down my commute, I can deal with it. groups of men in spandex not slowing down my commute, cool. groups of men in parachute pants slowing my commute down, hey fine with me.

Yogimus:Norwegian Squirrel: I must admit I'm always fascinated by these cyclists threads on fark, are really cyclists so loathed?

Many have earned it.

/biked 20+ miles per day for work from 15-21//Knew the road rules///Most drivers and cyclists don't

On my drive home yesterday, idiot bicyclist AND HIS DOG wasn't going to stop for the stop sign and, flying along, barely saw me in time and slammed on the brakes just in time. (Lucky for him, it wasn't raining and his brakes were working great.) Aren't bicycles supposed to obey ALL the rules of the road that any other wheeled traffic does, including stopping for stop signs?

ZAZ:If you turn right (in America) in an urban area you're liable to have a big mess to hose off your truck or bus. Trucks slow down a lot for right turns and bikes pass them on the right.

Fun fact: lots of motorists, trucks included, like to wait 'til the last moment to signal, rather than starting the signal the last 100 ft before the turn (CA VC, dunno about other states, but I'm betting it's similar) cuz farkholes aren't paying attention. By then it's too farking late for the bicyclist who's on the right going straight.

But cyclists... fark 'em, right?

/I drive//I bike///I farking signal WELL before the turn when I drive////I'm very mindful of cars when I bike

mama2tnt:Yogimus: Norwegian Squirrel: I must admit I'm always fascinated by these cyclists threads on fark, are really cyclists so loathed?

Many have earned it.

/biked 20+ miles per day for work from 15-21//Knew the road rules///Most drivers and cyclists don't

On my drive home yesterday, idiot bicyclist AND HIS DOG wasn't going to stop for the stop sign and, flying along, barely saw me in time and slammed on the brakes just in time. (Lucky for him, it wasn't raining and his brakes were working great.) Aren't bicycles supposed to obey ALL the rules of the road that any other wheeled traffic does, including stopping for stop signs?

As a former truck drive all I can do is to shake my head at this story. From day ONE commercial drivers have it drilled into their minds that you must watch virtually everything at all times. We get trained that we MUST maintain a feild of awareness that extends several truck lengths in from of the truck as well as from side to side.

Honestly I love to see this situation be applied in the opposite direct, here in the US. Training for EVERYONE to NOT do stupid things in front of truckers. 'Big Rigs' are 80,000 pound ballistic missiles. The laws of physics do not allow them to just stop for any nimrod that's in a hurry. If you accelerate in front of a rig, dodge across three lanes of a traffic to make a turn, then stop for the red light you're probably going to get massed flat. That's a story from my own book of idiotic highway stories. I didn't mass the idiot. But I did jack knife the truck across three lanes of traffic. I'm still amazed that I didn't hit anyone at all in that mess.

Look. I'm a bicyclist. I have near-collisions with trucks and cars almost every day.

Please, motorists. Keep your eyes open for cyclists like me, who ride 30 miles per hour through a red light at a blind intersection at nine p.m. while wearing dark clothing before zipping the wrong way across seven lanes of traffic.

When I'm a pedestrian on a cross walk and some cyclist tries to ignore a red I take pleasure in farking with them. Grabbing their arm tightly in 'shock' as they buzz in front of me is a riot, every damn time.

gimmegimme:Look. I'm a bicyclist. I have near-collisions with trucks and cars almost every day.

Please, motorists. Keep your eyes open for cyclists like me, who ride 30 miles per hour through a red light at a blind intersection at nine p.m. while wearing dark clothing before zipping the wrong way across seven lanes of traffic.

Share the road.

Sure I'll share the road. Matter of fact I'll make sure you know it's texture and taste when you slam into it.

Lamberts Ho Man:I've logged alot of road miles all over the country on all kinds of roads. Well into 5 figures.

The professional drivers - tractor trailers, etc. - don't scare me. I've never had an issue with them. They generally know where they are, where you are, and make sure those don't intersect.

The things that scare the shiat out of me on the road are, in ascending order:

1. All cars2. Drivers with cell phones3. RV drivers who spend 50 weeks out of the year in the Lexus, then drive HWY 1 in something the size of a greyhound bus pulling a trailer the other 2 weeks. They have no fscking idea where they are.4. 5th wheel drivers who have no idea just how far their mirrors stick out.

/NCSB// waited in the rain for an hour for an ambulance holding a poncho over a guy who got his shoulder destroyed by one of these

#7 combines the general asshole redneck tendencies with the "Hey y'all, watch this" phenomena and the stupid people in groups multipliers in full effect. Have been intentionally run off the road, things thrown at me etc. This was pretty rare when I started touring in the 80s and 90s, but it seems to have gotten much worse.

Haven't been much of a road rider for years, would like to do it again. Mountain bikes are great, but there's something about hammering big gears with a tailwind on the open road. But if I do, I'll have a gopro and be conspicuously armed.

my dad cycled in the late 70s early 80s all around rural redneck northern cali, had the same shiat happen to him by the same dudes, so he started wearing a shoulder holster and never got bothered again. probably get thrown in the clink for doing that now though.

Stanley Brown, who works at the CVS store at the intersection, said he noticed the tractor-trailer making a right turn onto Saint Paul from the far left lane of Commonwealth and then saw the bicyclist racing down the avenue at a high rate of speed.

He said the bicyclist then hit the truck.

"It was a loud enough impact that I heard it'' inside the store, he said.

Brown said it was immediately clear to him that the bicyclist had been killed.

He said the truck driver got out of his vehicle, walked to the passenger side of the cab where he looked briefly at the bicyclist and then returned to his cab. He appeared shaken up, but did not show any obvious sign of intoxication or impairment, Brown said.

By the way ... for the non-cyclist drivers out there. Here are a few cyclist behaviours you might not be familiar with that are practised by sane, responsible riders just trying to preserve their own lives.

1. Riding at least a foot to the left of the white line/shoulder/curb.

First rule of the road for safe cycling is to be predictable. The edge of the road is often full of trash, glass, potholes, etc. Hit a hole or flip a stick into your spokes at speed and you'll likely end up in traffic. Or you spot it soon enough and you have to dart left quickly to avoid it. Both put you where drivers weren't expecting you to be.

2. Taking the full lane on a narrow bridge, cresting a hill or going into a blind turn.

You can't see what's around that turn/over that hill. But you probably have enough room to sneak by right? Just quick, you'll hardly cross the line at all. But when that truck comes the other way, who's going to get the shiatty end of the stick? I'm guessing you won't think twice about jerking the wheel to the right to avoid a head on with him. So I'm going to take the lane and make you understand that you're going into a blind turn in the wrong lane.

3. Staying in the through lane instead of all the way to the right at an intersection with a turn lane.

Yes, this pisses some people off. Should be pretty obvious though - if I'm not turning, I shouldn't be in the turn lane. It's a good way to get hit by somebody who is turning.

4. Using the left turn lane or left side of the lane when turning left.

See #3 You don't want to be turning left from the right side with through traffic. Judgement is called for of course - if it's a busy road, I'll often go straight across and then cross with traffic from the other road.

5. Not riding on sidewalks and some bike paths.

This is a fantastic way to get hit by turning traffic which isn't expecting somebody to enter the intersection fast and without good sight lines. Most bike paths aren't fit for more then a family outing with the kids on training wheels - incredibly poorly designed for actual riding.

Now a few for the cyclists.

Cardinal rule - don't piss people off.

1. Stop for stop signs and signals.2. Ride single file when there is traffic.3. When riding in large groups, signal when it's safe for following traffic to pass.4. When you get to a light, don't ride past all the people who were just delayed passing you on the past stretch. It pisses them off to have to do it again.

1. Stop for stop signs and signals.2. Ride single file when there is traffic.3. When riding in large groups, signal when it's safe for following traffic to pass.4. When you get to a light, don't ride past all the people who were just delayed passing you on the past stretch. It pisses them off to have to do it again.

Here's the thing. When I'm on my bike, I don't have any obligation to follow any rules of the road whatsoever. I can change lanes without looking and blow through stop signs with impunity.

And when I'm on my bike, I'm also a pedestrian and I have right of way and everyone else in the world must accommodate me.

Yeah, share the road, and all that. However, the two accidents involving cyclists over the past few weeks in Montreal (one dead cyclist, another critically injured) shed some light on behaviour that could be deemed risky on their part.

In the case of the one that died, she decided to bike under a two-lane overpass, where only cars should be, instead of getting off her bike and walking the distance on the sidewalk set up alongside the road. She was clipped by a rig as it passed.

The critically injured one was involved in the now classic rig-makes-a-right-turn-and-cyclists-gets-crushed scenario. However, from what I've read, it is unclear whether the driver made his turn without signaling or if the cyclist simply thought she could squeeze by before the turn happened.

My two cents on this is a) never be on the road under and overpass unless you're driving something and b) never think you can squeeze by anything that has bigger blind spots than a senior citizen with severe glaucoma.

If I ride close to the cars, somebody is going to open a door into me, or back out in front of me. Even if I have time to avoid it, I'm now going to have to dart quickly left, into traffic, to avoid it. Not a good idea. There's was a marked bike lane where I used to live that went immediately along a lane of parallel parking. I know some people got pissed off at me for not using it.

Lamberts Ho Man:Cardinal rule - don't piss people off.1. Stop for stop signs and signals.2. Ride single file when there is traffic.3. When riding in large groups, signal when it's safe for following traffic to pass.4. When you get to a light, don't ride past all the people who were just delayed passing you on the past stretch. It pisses them off to have to do it again.

When I owned a scooter rental, many of my customers had never been on motorized 2 wheels before. Upon returning at the end of the day, many would comment about how they had a new respect for those who rode motorcycles, and had a better understanding why people loved to ride.